Here's the second update! Sorry for last time, folks, there were supposed to be spaces between changes in the POV. So, to make sure that doesn't happen again, I'll be putting a heading on each new section to let you know who's speaking!

I tried to keep characters, well, in-character, though it's pretty hard to write as Tsubaki. As for terms, I use meister/technician interchangeably, and the same goes for the red imp/little oni. Oh, and I realize that in the anime the Black Room has red tiles, not white ones, but I liked the white tiles better.

Also, thank you for the encouraging review, kamihanazono! I'll keep the updates coming! =)

Anyway, read & enjoy!

All Maka could make out was the sun, groaning as if in pain, and the moon, drooling blood while grinning psychotically. It took Maka a long moment to realize that they were painted onto a blue ceiling. Where was she?

Sitting up, Maka found herself lying on a four-poster bed with black linens, which sat in the center a black-and-white checked floor. The only other furniture in the room was an old-fashioned lantern on the plain white wall and a black nightstand piled with the many folds of a red dress, complete with a pair of black pumps. Maka eyed the pile warily before standing and walking to the door. The room was perfectly round, almost up to Kidd's standards, and the walls seemed to force Maka's eyes upon the looming black door with its carved intricacies. The only problem with it, Maka thought wryly, was its apparent lack of a doorknob.

Recalling what happened in the Black Room, Maka remembered passing out in the oni's grasp. Is this connected to the Black Room then? Maka wondered, and then she remembered Soul's terrified face as he struggled as the red manacles in his attempt to reach her. Am I still in his soul...?

Maka pushed against the door for a full minute before reaching the conclusion that the door was locked—and, from her side, unlockable. Patiently, Maka sat with her back to the door to wait. I'll save you, Soul. Just you wait for me!

"Hya-HOO! Black Star has arrived!"

"Oh, Tsubaki, thank goodness!"

Black Star watched as Soul and Maka's furry purple roommate launched herself straight past his god-like self and landed on Tsubaki's shoulder, affectionately rubbing her nose against Tsubaki's cheek. Black Star stared at the spectacle, too horrified that the magical cat had overlooked his divine presence to comprehend the gravity of the situation. Instead, while Tsubaki followed a very worried Blair into the apartment, Black Star settled into the nearest corner to wallow in self-pity… that is, until Tsubaki came back and dragged him into the living room.

Of course, when Blair transformed into her human form, complete with a barely-there nurse costume, Black Star lost so much blood through his nose that he was rendered completely useless. After that, Tsubaki could only sigh and try to cope with the situation by herself.

"Tsubaki, you've got to help me!" Blair begged, taking Tsubaki's hands in her own. "I woke up this morning, and Soul and Maka were just laying there, and they won't wake up even when I cry and beg and scratch! Help me help me help me help me!"

Tsubaki truly pitied her friends, who both looked like they had tangled with a pack of wildcats rather than their own feline roommate. Blair had prepared Tsubaki over the phone, but the weapon still felt a chill in her bones at the sight of two of her dearest friends completely out on the couch. They almost looked as though they were asleep, even sharing an intimate moment with Maka's head resting on Soul's lap, both of them wearing their matching blue pajamas.

Tsubaki could feel it, though: something terrible had happened here. Tsubaki knew neither of her friends would awake anytime soon; they had retreated into their souls. Tsubaki remembered her battle with Masamune. She had studied soul possession extensively in preparation for that fight, and if she was correct…

Tsubaki felt Maka's forehead: damp with sweat, and cold. She nodded to herself.

"Black Star, Blair, I need your help," Tsubaki finally announced. Her meister perked up at the sound of his name, and Blair's eyes grew big in anticipation. "Black Star, please find me a water bottle from the kitchen. We can't let them dehydrate in this state, but we'll have to go about it carefully, understood?" Black Star nodded obediently, as she knew he would. "Thank you. Blair? Could you show me where Maka keeps her books? I'd like to confirm my suspicions before we call Shinigami."

"Suspicions?" Blair asked, her eyebrows crumpled in confusion.

"Yes," Tsubaki said, wiping Soul's white hair out of his face. "I believe Soul Eater has been possessed."

Soul glared at the little oni, his rage flaring as the piano roared under his fingers. His fingers moved on their own accord as Soul's wrath continued to build behind his crimson eyes.

By "on their own accord," Soul meant he couldn't stop his own fingers from dashing across those ivory keys. He had fought against their movements and lost, and now he could only listen as his hands produced one of the angriest pieces of music he had ever listened to, let alone played. He could only hope the piece would end soon. His fingers were raw from playing so long, turning a swollen red and throbbing with every note.

The oni chuckled quietly from his seat on the table. The red-faced imp had not returned to his previous size, so his hulking figure now made the table look like a stool instead. The oni's finger swung back and forth pedantically—swing, swing, swing—like a director's baton. Soul suspected that the imp was somehow controlling him; who else could control him while he was in his soul? How, though? I've always been careful to never let him control me....

"Concerned, Soul Eater?" the oni taunted. "Wasn't it you who asked me to 'lead you?' Anywhere I like?"

"I also said I'd destroy your plans," Soul growled, instantly remembering the conversation. "A promise I intend to keep!"

"How?" The oni's curt question was punctuated with a burst of sound as Soul's fingers slammed against the keyboard. "Are you in any position to threaten me anymore?"

Soul glowered at the imp again, the red manacles weighing heavily on his wrists. He had no idea where those red chains had come from, though he realized that they connected to the legs of the grand piano. Were these magic? He did not have Maka's Soul Perception, but he would bet his money that the Black Blood had something to do with this. Wait, wouldn't the manacles be black then? Gah, Maka would know better than I would.

As if reading Soul's mind, the imp goaded him, "Eager to find your meister, huh?"

"What. The. Hell. Did. You. Do. With. Her?!"

The oni's insane grin only widened. "Do you really want to see her that badly…?"

"What the hell do you think?!" Soul shouted at the oni, his voice drowning out even the raging piano.

"I see. I'll go fetch her then."

With that, the oni slipped off the table, landing on the checkered tile with a soft thump. As the giant imp lumbered out of the room, a shiver ran down Soul's spine. What had he just done? That had been far too easy. "If you even think of touching my tech, I'll fucking kill you!"

The oni flicked a finger backward at Soul, and the piano player was suddenly hunched over the piano again, although he had made no voluntarily motion. Soul growled in his throat as he heard the oni retreat. "I'll let you see your Maka."

If that imp hurt her, Soul would kill the bastard, no matter the consequence to himself. Maka... please be okay.

As the weapon impatiently waited for his meister, scarlet blood began to speckle the pale keys as Soul's fingers played mercilessly on.